Chapter 312
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Like a lone rider vanishing into the dust, that skinny monk never once uttered his name.
Watching the figure gradually fade into the distance, Hall Master Li’s expression shifted uncertainly. He had thought this would be a pleasant errand—just capturing some sea-wandering youth of unknown background, and with the aid of two monks of the Yuan generation from Dalin Temple, how could it not be a task easily accomplished?
Yet reality had played a cruel little joke on him. What easy task? It was practically a brush with death! Judging from what had just transpired, if that man had even the slightest intent to kill them, none of them would have walked away alive.
“How am I going to explain this when I return to the sect?”
Hall Master Li couldn’t help but regret bungling the assignment. He’d been hoping to use it to win the Sect Leader’s favor. But soon after, his face relaxed into a smile. If even the esteemed monks of Dalin Temple were powerless to stop the man—and nearly lost their lives in the process—how could he be blamed? Surely the Sect Leader wouldn’t fault him for this.
With that thought in mind, he waved over Bai Yonggui, who had just finished getting his wound dressed, and spoke gently: “Little Bai, how’s the injury?”
Bai Yonggui bared his teeth in pain and said: “Many thanks for your concern, Hall Master Li. That bastard was truly insidious—he actually severed my right thumb. Fortunately, I managed to retrieve it. Once we return, I’ll seek the sect’s divine physician—there’s still hope it can be reattached.”
Hall Master Li frowned slightly, then smiled and said: “It could be worse. So long as your life is intact, everything else can be managed. Rest easy—even if the thumb can’t be saved, I’ll see to it that you’re given a secure post within the hall.”
Bai Yonggui was instantly moved to tears, forcing his fists together in a pained salute. “For Hall Master Li to treat me so kindly, how could I not devote myself to your service, even unto death?”
Hall Master Li, however, was secretly thinking: “You’re already crippled—what service can you still render? You’ve got to at least be of some use…”
But his voice remained warm as he said: “No need for all this formality. In our Xinrong Sect, no task is lowly or noble—there are only different duties. We are all bricks in the grand foundation of the sect. Wherever one is needed, one must go. No matter the position, we must shine for the great cause of our sect. Little Bai, everything you’ve done, the Sect Leader has taken note of. You needn’t worry about the future. And even though your post might change, I still hope that you’ll achieve extraordinary deeds from an ordinary position, and prove that you’re one of Xinrong Sect’s finest talents!”
Hearing Hall Master Li’s so-called “heartfelt words”, Bai Yonggui felt as though his heart were shattering. They hadn’t even returned to the sect yet, hadn’t even seen the divine physician—and already his fate had been sealed.
Sigh… If I’d known it would come to this, why even bother in the first place? Bai Yonggui thought bitterly.
Judging by the look in Hall Master Li’s eyes, and the way he was about to offer even more comforting words, Bai Yonggui could already guess what he was really thinking. Helplessly, he reached into his robes and took out that iron box, handing it over to Hall Master Li with a forced smile. “Hall Master Li, this item… was brought back from overseas by myself and Junior Brother Chai. I ask you to safeguard it on my behalf. Please be cautious on the road and present it to the Sect Leader when we return. At that time, I would be deeply grateful if you might put in a few good words for me.”
Hall Master Li narrowed his eyes and looked at the box, but made no move to take it. Instead, he said with an air of reluctance: “Little Bai, this is your and Chai Feng’s achievement. It should stay with you. Those who know the situation will understand you were injured and couldn’t protect it. But those who don’t might say I stole your merit.”
The word “injured” was particularly emphasized.
Bai Yonggui could only reply with resignation: “Hall Master Li, please understand—this item is of great importance. I’m injured now and cannot ensure its safety. If anything were to happen to it, I would become a sinner of the Xinrong Sect through the ages. I ask that you understand my difficulties and keep it safe for me.”
Upon hearing this, Hall Master Li finally smiled. “Well, in that case, I suppose I’ll reluctantly take on the task. The merit is yours and yours alone—no one can take that from you. Wouldn’t you agree, Little Bai?”
Bai Yonggui responded with a wry smile: “Hall Master Li is absolutely right.”
Only then did Hall Master Li carefully accept the iron box. In the dim twilight, he opened it for a quick inspection. Once he confirmed there was no issue, he cautiously tucked it into his robe. Then, glancing at the dozen or so disciples around him, he waved his hand and declared: “All of you are meritorious contributors to the Xinrong Sect. You’ll be richly rewarded upon our return. Let’s go—we’ll head back now and collect our rewards for this mission!”
“Alright!”
The crowd cheered, their earlier fear and dread from the battle now completely swept away. They followed Hall Master Li, hurrying off into the dusk in high spirits.
Kill a man every ten steps, travel a thousand li without a pause!
“How exhilarating!”
At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua just wanted to roar with delight. He truly relished this feeling of having full control over his own fate.
He had used qinggong to leave the pier, but his divine sense had never left the scene. Every movement and reaction of those people remained perfectly clear in his mind. Only when he had gone far enough did he finally withdraw his divine sense. With a flicker of his figure, he vanished from sight, slipping quietly into the earth and silently burrowing away.
Then, emerging from a random location, Zhang Xiaohua haphazardly picked a direction, unleashed his qinggong and dashed off wildly. After running around aimlessly for a while, he again used the Earth Escape technique to stealthily burrow underground. Like this, he repeated the process several more times, until night had fallen deep and the sky was pitch-black. Only then did he emerge, glancing around—up ahead, there was a small village. Overjoyed, Zhang Xiaohua slipped quietly toward it, found a large haystack in a threshing yard, hollowed out the center, crawled inside, and sat down to cultivate with his eyes closed.
After coming down from the thrill of seizing control of the situation, a trace of vigilance returned to Zhang Xiaohua’s heart. After all, he was only at the early stage of Qi Refining—there was still a long way to go before reaching Foundation Establishment like True Person Fire Dragon. If someone as powerful as Fire Dragon True Person could end up as mere dust, how could he afford to squander a single opportunity to cultivate?
Besides, the people he’d just fought were little more than small fry. Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t arrogant enough to believe he could already stand on equal footing with the likes of Ou Peng or Monk Changgeng.
Those men were old monsters who had immersed themselves in martial arts for decades—towering figures of the martial world. Though Zhang Xiaohua followed the Immortal Dao and had a higher starting point and superior methods, the time he’d spent on the path was far too short. Competing with them now was simply out of the question.
Which was all the more reason to cultivate with diligence.
The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua crawled out from the haystack and, with considerable effort, managed to ask a village auntie for some news. It wasn’t that he looked unfriendly—nor that his ancient-style clothing scared the woman. The issue was simply that this auntie, much like Zhang Xiaohua used to be, had never left her home area. The farthest she’d ever been was the nearby market town—Songning Town. As for anything beyond that, she had no idea.
Zhang Xiaohua wanted to ask someone else, but the more knowledgeable folks usually rose later in the morning. At this hour, they were probably still snuggled in their warm blankets, and he couldn’t very well drag someone out of bed just to ask for directions.
Fortunately, the auntie at least knew where Songning Town was. She casually pointed him in the right direction.
Zhang Xiaohua thanked her, stepped around the haystack, twisted his body, and vanished on the spot. Behind him, the helpful auntie called out: “Young man! That way leads to the pigsty!”
But Zhang Xiaohua, now using his Earth Escape technique, couldn’t hear a word. His only thought was to reach Songning Town and find the road home.
However, after traveling for some time and judging that he’d gone far enough, he released his divine sense only to find that there were barely any signs of human activity nearby. He surfaced at a quiet spot, asked someone for directions—and found out that he’d gone the wrong way!
Sigh… A directionally challenged person is still directionally challenged, whether above ground or underground.
Helplessly, Zhang Xiaohua thanked the person again and set off once more—well, underground again.
This time, though he was extremely careful in discerning the correct direction, the underground world was still just a dull, grey blur. How could he see clearly? Before long, Zhang Xiaohua was already growing irritable and impatient. He surfaced once more in a secluded spot.
Asking around again, Zhang Xiaohua was deeply frustrated. This Earth Escape technique is fast, yes, but if you can’t stay on course, what’s the point? The faster you escape, the farther you veer off. This just won’t work—it’s not a long-term solution.
Looking around him, all he saw was desolate countryside. Even the person he’d spoken to just now had looked at his cane—wait, no, his sword—with terror in their eyes, thinking he was a highway robber. Where in the world was he supposed to find a place to buy a horse? Or even a carriage?
Sigh… better to use qinggong after all. Though he might be seen by others, there were martial artists scattered throughout the jianghu. It wouldn’t necessarily stir up trouble. With that thought, Zhang Xiaohua followed the direction pointed out by the passerby, performed his Floating Technique, and soared straight ahead. Mountains? He cut through them. Rivers? He built invisible bridges. Heh—by the time it took to finish a meal, a bustling market town had already appeared before his eyes.
It was a town about the same size as Lu Town. Zhang Xiaohua happened to be on one of the main roads leading into it. Just like in any ordinary town, several li before the gates, there were tea pavilions built to offer travelers and merchants a place to rest. Zhang Xiaohua picked one of the slightly larger ones and stepped inside.
This particular tea pavilion had a young attendant. When he saw Zhang Xiaohua’s attire, his eyes went wide with surprise—until the tea shop owner gave him a sharp slap on the head. Only then did he come to his senses and quickly called out: “This way, young master—please, have a seat. What kind of tea would you like?”
Zhang Xiaohua hadn’t planned on ordering any tea. But seeing how respectfully the boy treated him, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He simply found a seat and said: “Anything is fine. I just have a few questions I’d like to ask.”
The attendant looked a little troubled and replied, “Our humble shop only has pre-rain Longjing tea. I wonder if the young master is accustomed to that sort of tea?”
Zhang Xiaohua raised his brows in surprise. “I’m not some young master. Just give me some plain water—that’ll do.”
The attendant glanced at his long robe, then chuckled and said: “Of course. Of course, not a young master. I’ll bring the Longjing tea right away.”
With that, he laughed and turned to go.
By now, the people in the tea pavilion who had paused to watch Zhang Xiaohua enter had gone back to their own conversations, sipping tea and quenching their thirst. A nearby conversation, not spoken very loudly, drifted into Zhang Xiaohua’s ears.
“Who knows whose kid that is—dressed up in old-fashioned clothes and strutting around. These past few years, I don’t know what’s gotten into people—so many have taken to wearing antique styles. What’s so great about those long robes anyway? Just makes ’em look strange.”
“Old Tang, you just don’t get it. I’ve seen plenty of educated gentlemen in Hucheng dressing like that. At first, it does look weird. But the more you see it, the more refined it starts to seem. Just look at that young master—he’s clearly a pampered rich kid, but the moment he puts on those robes, he actually looks cultured, like a learned scholar. It’s just a shame he’s too plain-looking. Hmm… eyes too small, nose too flat, ears too little—no blessings there. Otherwise, he’d count as a fine, dashing fellow.”
Pfft! Zhang Xiaohua nearly burst out laughing on the spot. Looking at the long robe on his body, he couldn’t help feeling at a loss for words, his expression a mix of amusement and helplessness.
